INTRO

As we’ll see in a moment, 1 Kings continues the account of
David’s reign begun in 2 Samuel.

The break between 1 & 2 Kings interrupts the story of the reign of Azariah &
the ministry of the prophet Elijah.

So why were these books divided at
these places?

In the Septuagint, a
Greek translation of the OT made in the 3rd century bc, the books of Samuel & Kings
were titled Kingdoms.

When
they were divided into 4 books is uncertain, but because they are roughly equal
in length and divide in the middle of narrative pieces, it seems they were
divided by a scribe to fit into separate volumes.

Author –

The historical content 1 & 2 Kings was probably compiled
by Jeremiah from the royal court records.

Under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit he wrote a narrative of Israel’s history from the reign of David to the
Babylonian captivity.

I. DAVID’S LAST YEARS 1:1-2:12

A. David Grows Cold 1:1-4

1 Now King David was old, advanced
in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm.

2 Samuel 5:4 says David was 30 when he became king &
reigned for 40 years, so he’s closing in on his 70th birthday.

The years have caught up with him
& his age is beginning to take a toll.

A common problem of age is poor
circulation. David is forever cold.

They didn’t have central heating, water bottles, or electric
blankets.

Ancient palaces tended to be damp
& drafty, and there are several months of the year in the vicinity of Jerusalem when it’s cold & wet.

An elderly person like David
would be constantly chilled & would then run the risk of all kinds of
respiratory ailments.

It’s painful seeing the once mighty slayer of Goliath in
this weakened state.

David was a lion-tamer &
bear-bane.

He’s been a warrior, a poet, a
musician, an inspiring visionary leader, a builder
ofempire!

But now he’s shivering under the
covers of his bed while attendants hover around

2 Therefore his servants said to
him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her
stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom,
that our lord the king may be warm.”3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.4 The young woman was very
lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know
her.

First of all, it’s important to know that this was a common
practice in that time.

Because
they didn’t have central heating or electric blankets, body heat was a not
uncommon means of dealing with cold nights.

Kings would often have one or more
young lovelies who shared their bed to keep them warm.

They became his concubines, &
while their primary purpose was to provide
warmth, they often became the object of other “under the blanket” activities.

David’s advisors suggested he employ this custom.

His past with women suggested to
them that he’d not resist & when they mentioned it, he didn’t.

So they searched for a hotbabe
(emphasis on “hot”) & found one named Abishag in the village of Shunam.

Though this might sound like
something young women would resist, being a
concubine of a king was something most young
women saw as desirable; it meant being taken into the royal house & a life
of privilege that would benefit her entire family for generations to come.

So Abishag went & served
David faithfully.

But we’re told David did NOT have sexual relations with her.

That that is even mentioned indicates
while it was expected by others, David
didn’t do it because he knew it was wrong.

And if he knew it was wrong
to have sex with Abishag, why did he let her into his bed in the first place?
Why did he go along with their plan? Why didn’t he tell them to forget the
whole idea?

These verses are given for one reason – to give us an idea
of David’s growing feebleness.

The verve & vigor that had
marked his earlier life is spent & he’s become a figurehead, someone to be
taken care of.

It’s time to pass the reins of rule
to his heir. But even his mind has become muddled.

It’s this lack of physical vitality & mental acuity that
allows for what follows.

B. Adonijah Claims the Throne 1:5-10

5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith
exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots
and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

Haggith was one of David’s many wives.

Adonijah’s elder brother was
Absalom, who you’ll remember had staged a rebellion against David that was
nearly successful in taking the throne.

With Absalom out of the way, Adonijah thinks himself the
likely successor to his father David & moves to secure his place as the new
king.

He doesn’t think David is in any
position or condition to prevent his power-grab.

Thinking the best way to establish himself was through a
massive public marketing campaign, he ordered some of his dad’s chariots to go
throughout the land announcing him as the new king.

This would give people the impression the military was supporting Adonijah.

6 (And his father had not rebuked
him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very
good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)

Like his elder brother Absalom, Adonijah was a looker.

This played well to his immediate
acceptance because people prefer their rulers to be handsome.

But the first part of v. 6 helps explain why Adonijah made this power-grab: He was a
selfish, self-centered, egotistical spoiled brat!

It wasn’t justnow that
David failed to check Adonijah – he never had since he was a young child.

While David was a giant among men when it came to things
like battle, composing music, poetry, faith in God, & building an empire –
he was a terrible parent! I mean, really hideous!

David’s home life was a mess, a disaster of cosmic
proportions.

#1 - He had multiple wives.

#2 – His kids were OUT OF CONTROL!

One son raped his half sister,
then her brother killed him.

He then went on to rebel against
David and as I said, almost stole the kingdom.

Here we have another son who tried
to steal his throne.

David was a passive & permissive father as v. 6 makes
clear.

Commentators like to suggest the
reason why David failed to rein in his kids was because of his own moral
failure with Bathsheba & Uriah.

They say he didn’t think he had the
moral ground to discipline his children when he was himself so badly in need of
discipline.

Or that his own need of mercy had
led to his being far too merciful with his kids.

Parenting is largely an application oflaw
in the raising our of children.

They must be taught to obey and the
consequences that come form disobedience.

Mercy is what you give so the relationship between you & your child can continue.

But as afar as life-training is concerned, discipline &
correction have to be in place & consistent.

David’s failures at home & the consequences they bore
shed some valuable light on a subject we hear a lot about today. à

Does the private life of public officials matter?

There are those who say “No.” What
someone does in their private time & life has no
bearing on their role as a ruler or leader.

It’s of no consequence to the
decisions they make regarding public policy.

Following this line of reasoning, David could say, “Leave my
private life out of it. What I do & with
whom I do it is no one’s business! How I
chose to raise my family is between me & God and everyone else can just bug
out.”

But wait David – how you raise your kids isn’t going to
effect just your family.

David’s private life produced an
Absalom whose rebellion cost the lives of thousands of men.

It hatched a sinister conspiracy to
murder a really good man named Uriah.

And it lead here to this precarious
moment when a usurper tried to wrestle away the throne of the Kingdom.

It’s foolish to think a ruler’s private life won’t effect
his/her public work.

You know, the Founding Fathers understood this.

And it’s why in the founding of the
republic they urged voters to elect men of character rather than mere
politicians with popular positions.

They understood the future holds unknown challenges.

You want principled people in
positions of power when those challenges come so they can be negotiated wisely.

The politicians who makes wild
promises he knows he can’t deliver on just so he can get into office will run
at the first sign of trouble or will blame others for his inability to handle
the crisis.

So the Founders urged people to
elect good people not hollow promises.

That’s counsel we’d be wise to heed as we look to a new
presidential election.

7 Then he conferred with Joab the
son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped
Adonijah.

He knew that any day David would
move to replace him again, so when Adonijah made his play for the throne, Joab
decided it was best tro throw in his lot with him.

Abiathar the priest had much the same motive.

As the last of Eli’s cursed line,
he knew David intended to promote his rival Zadok as the high priest.

So he too backed Adonijah, hoping
his ascension would secure him the priesthood.

8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the
son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged
to David were not with Adonijah.

All of David’s loyal followers awaited David’s official
announcement of who would be his heir.

They knew Adonijah’s move was
premature and would not endorse him.

9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and
oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel;
he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah,
the king’s servants.10 But
he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his
brother.

He didn’t invite Solomon for one simple reason – though
David had yet to make it official, he’d already indicated his intention of
making Bathsheba’s son the heir.

Adonijah picked an interesting site for his celebrations.

Zoheleth means ‘serpent.’ He
sacrificed at the stone of the serpent – a creature which will forever be
branded on the minds of God’s people as a symbol of evil & rebellion.

It was a fitting place for Adonijah
to inaugurate his reign since what he was doing was nothing less than
rebellion, no matter how he might try to spin it.

C. The Throne Passes to Solomon 1:11-2:12

1. The inquiry 1:11-27

11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the
mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith
has become king, and David our lord does not know it?

All this was done on the sly, another indication Adonijah
knew what he was doing was against his father;s wishes.

12 Come, please, let me now give
you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.13 Go immediately to King David and
say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying,
“Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my
throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’14Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come
in after you and confirm your words.”

Adonijah’s actions were treasonous and so worthy of death.

The law required that any
accusation leading to capital punishment had to be verified by 2 witnesses.

15 So Bathsheba went into the
chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was
serving the king.)16And
Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your
wish?”17 Then she said to
him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord
your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall
reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’18
So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord
the king, you do not know about it.19 He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and
has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the
commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited.20 And as for you, my lord, O king,
the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will
sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.21
Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with
his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”

Since Adonijah knew David had given the nod to Solomon as
heir, as soon as David was gone, there would be a political schism that would
ensue that would challenge his hegemony.

It was the tradition that when a
new king came to the throne, he exiled or killed anyone who presented a threat
to him.

And for the most part, people
accepted this because having a secure throne was incredibly important.

Bathsheba knew David loved her & their son Solomon
dearly so the prospect of their being executed by Adonijah would move him to
yank himelf out of his stupr & lethargy and take action.

22 And just then, while she was
still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.23 So they told the king, saying,
“Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed
down before the king with his face to the ground.24
And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah
shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?25
For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and
fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons,
and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are
eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’26 But he has not invited me—me your
servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant
Solomon.27 Has this thing
been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should
sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

Nathan was one of those David had confided in some time
before about who was to inherit the throne.

Nathan asks, ‘Have you changed your
mind and didn’t tell me?”

2. David Affirms Solomon as heir 1:28-37

28 Then King David answered and
said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood
before the king.29 And
the king took an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress,30 just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly
Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my
place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage
to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever!”32 And King David said, “Call to me
Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they
came before the king.33 The
king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have
Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon.34 There let Zadok the priest and
Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, ‘Long
live King Solomon!’35 Then
you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he
shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”36 Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too.37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with
Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

Benaiah, speaking for all of them, welcomed David’s
affirmation of Solomon as the rightful heir to the throne.

They were to perform the coronation at the spring of Gihon
there in the Kidron Valley on the east side of Jerusalem.

This was a public place where there was always a large
number of people gathered to fill their vessels.

It wouldn’t take long for the
events there to spread throughout all Jerusalem.

3. Solomon’s coronation 1:38-40

38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the
prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites

These were David’s personal hired bodyguard.

went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s
mule, and took him to Gihon.39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and
anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long
live King Solomon!”40 And
all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced
with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

While the people with Adonijah had been celebrating, the
majority of the people sensed his claim on the throne was premature so they
held back form signaling their endorsement of his reign.

They’d been guilty of backing
Adonijah’s rebel brother Absalom and came to regret their disloyalty to David.

They weren’t going to make the same
mistake twice.

But when they saw Solomon riding
on David’s own mount, & attended by Nathan, Zadok, and Benaiah, as well as
all his most loyal guards they knew they were seeing David’s choice of heir and
let loose with a whoop of joy that shook the hills.

Notice the reference to tabernacle
in v. 39.

While it wasn’t the exact same
structure Moses had built in the wilderness nearly 500 years before, the ark of
the covenant was still being housed in a tent-like facility there in Jerusalem.

It remained there until Solomon
completed the temple some time later.

4. Word reaches Adonijah 1:41-53

41 Now Adonijah and all the guests
who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab
heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy
uproar?”42 While he was
still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And
Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a prominent man, and bring
good news.”43 Then
Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made
Solomon king.44 The king
has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on
the king’s mule.45 So
Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and
they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is
the noise that you have heard.46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.47
And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our
lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your
name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed
himself on the bed.48 Also
the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my
eyes see it!’ ”49 So
all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went
his way.

In an instant, in the middle of their celebrating, they
realized their attempt to secure the throne had forced David into turning the
throne over to Solomon.

There was no chance now Adonijah’s
plan would succeed & they all knew it, so every last one of them bailed.

50 Now Adonijah was afraid of
Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.51 And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed
Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of
the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his
servant to death with the sword.’ ”

And of course the reason why Adonijah was so sure Solomon
was murder him was because that’s what he’d intended to do to Solomon as soon
as he had the throne!

52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves
himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if
wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”

Solomon showed Adonijah mercy. But in order for that mercy
to continue, it would need to be seen that Adonijah had altered his behavior in
light of it.

Any further attempts to cling to a
position from which he could make a claim on the throne would prove he abused
the mercy he’d been shown & death would soon follow.

53 So King Solomon sent them to
bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon;
and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

Falling down before a sovereign is a sign of surrender,
submission.

But as later events reveal,
Adonijah bowed for only one reason, to save his life.

There was no submission meant by
his bowing.

It was a ruse he used to escape
& fight another day.

Jesus said that not all those who say, “Lord, Lord” in
reality own Him as Lord.

They merely say that to avoid
judgment. But He is not fooled by ones word. He sees the heart.

5. David’s last instructions 2:1-9

1 Now the days of David drew near
that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying:2 “I go the way of all the earth; be
strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.3And keep the charge of the Lord
your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His
judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you
may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;4
that the Lord
may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take
heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all
their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

David knows his time is at an end so he gives some final
instructions to Solomon.

I like what he says at the very beginning –

v. 2 – “Be strong,
therefore, and prove yourself a man.And
keep the charge of the Lord your
God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His
judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses.”

Be a man! Here’s how – study & keep God’s Word. Walk with God!”

That’s so good! There’s a goofy idea that’s gone around for
many years that being a Christian isn’t very manly.

People who say Christianity is a crutch have no real idea
what being a Christian is about.

And anyone who says being a
follower of Jesus is unmanly totally misunderstands Who Jesus is.

The fact is, you can’t
really be a man, a REAL man, as God originally intended Adam to be, apart from
Christ.

David passed on to Solomon the promise God had given that as
long as his descendants followed the Lord, they would possess the throne of Israel.

5 “Moreover you know also what Joab
the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of
the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom
he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war
on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were
on his feet.6Therefore do
according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in
peace.

Here’s part of the necessary house-cleaning that needed to
be done as the throne passed to Solomon.

Joab had become more than a
commander of the military; he was a murderer who’d now proven himself
untrustworthy & disloyal.

He was a very dangerous guy &
it was best for him to pay for his crimes by being executed.

This would send the message to all
that Solomon meant to take the good from his father’s reign while correcting
the mistakes that had been made & purging the evil that had lodged there.

7 “But show kindness to the sons of
Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for
so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.8“And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite
from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to
Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to
death with the sword.’9 Now
therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know
what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with
blood.”

Shimei was a relative of Saul’s who’d cursed David as he
fled Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom.

When David returned to Jerusalem as the victor, Shimei came out all apologetic.

David promised not to kill him but
had kept him close so he could keep an eye on him.

David suspected as soon as he was
gone Shimei would create trouble for Solomon, so he urged Solomon to keep &
eye on him & executed him if he got out of line.

6. David dies 2:10-12

10 So David rested with his
fathers, and was buried in the City of David.11
The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned
thirty-three years.12 Then
Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly
established.

Indeed it was. Under Solomon Israel reached it’s all time
greatest era. These were her Golden Years in terms of earthly wealth &
power.

II. SOLOMON’S REIGN 2:13-11:43

A. Political Maneuvers 2:13-3:1

1. Adonijah’s plot 2:13-25

13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith
came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “Do you come peaceably?”
And he said, “Peaceably.”14 Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she
said, “Say it.”15 Then he
said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their
expectations on me, that I should reign.

No it wasn’t – this is pure bluff! Adonijah
was counting on Bathsheba being ignorant of the political situation.

However, the kingdom has been turned over, and
has become my brother’s; for it was his from the Lord.16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.” And she said to him,
“Say it.”17 Then he said,
“Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me
Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”

As David’s last concubine
& pseudo-wife, Adonijah was hoping to extract some political coin from a
marriage to her.

This proves he was angling for
position from which to launch a new claim on the throne.

Now, apparently Bathsheba wasn’t very politically astute
because she agrees to help this guy who at one time had been a mortal threat to
her.

18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I
will speak for you to the king.”19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah.
And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his
throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; so she sat at his right
hand.20 Then she said, “I
desire one small petition of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her,
“Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”21
So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to
Adonijah your brother as wife.”22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask
Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is
my older brother—for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of
Zeruiah.”23 Then King
Solomon swore by the Lord,
saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this
word against his own life!24 Now therefore, as the Lord
lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and
who has established a house for me, as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to
death today!”25 So King
Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him
down, and he died.

Solomon had already warned Adonijah to be careful.

He recognized in the request for
Abishag exactly what it was, an attempt to launch a new claim on the crown.

Being elder than Solomon there was
one point in his favor for being king.

By marrying David’s widow that
would be another point in his favor.

With a couple more he would have
enough political clout to challenge Salomon.

Maybe Bathsheba didn’t see
what was behind Adonijah’s request but Solomon did & it proved as long as
he remained alive he’d be dangerous, so he had to be executed.

Adonijah presents to us a good picture of the devil.

Though Jesus has delivered us from
bondage to Satan & become the Lord of our lives, the devil still tries to
claim a measure of rule.

Just as Adonijah had Joab &
Abiathar as allies, satan has the world & the flesh.

They work together to regain
control of our will.

The Holy Spirit helps us overcome them and yield to the
reign of Christ.

And like Adonijah, the enemy seems
to go into retreat for a time.

But eventually he comes and makes
what seems like a harmless suggestion to some Bathsheba like part of us that’s
become spiritually dull.

He says, “Give me this little
Abishag, this little thing from your past that used to be so lovely, so fun.”

And the Bathsheba within us says,
“Huh? Okay.”

After all, it seems small. What’s
to worry?

I recently heard about a pastor who had a guy come in for
counseling who had a serious drug problem.

He wanted to quit and so he’d
brought his stash & left it with the pastor –asking him to dispose of it
for him.

The pastor put it in his drawer,
intending to take it out, put it into his briefcase and throw it in a dumpster
on his way home.

But as the hours ticked down to the
end of the day, he remembered back to his days as a youngster when he did that
same drug. He wondered if he’d have the same reaction now that he had back
then. So he took the package out, and took some.

Today, he’s lost his church,
ministry, marriage, kids, and wanders the streets of his city eating out of the
very dumpsters he should have thrown that dope in.

Christian, don’t give into to Adonijah’s little requests for
the Abishag’s of your past.

When Adonijah raises his head –
send Benaiah to cut it off.

2. Abiathar removed 2:26-27

26 And to Abiathar the priest the
king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of
death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the
ark of the Lord God before my
father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was
afflicted.”27 So Solomon
removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord,
that he might fulfill the word of the Lord
which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.

It was Abiathar’s alliance with Adonijah that warranted him
death.

But Solomon showed mercy for the
many years of loyalty he’d shown both God & David.

3. Joab executed 2:28-37

28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab
had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled
to the tabernacle of the Lord,
and took hold of the horns of the altar.29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord; there he is, by the
altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him
down.”30 So Benaiah went
to the tabernacle of the Lord,
and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’ ” And he said, “No, but I
will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said
Joab, and thus he answered me.”31 Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and
bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the
innocent blood which Joab shed.32 So the Lord will return
his blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better
than he, and killed them with the sword— Abner the son of Ner, the commander of
the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of
Judah—though my father David did not know it.33
Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab
and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants,
upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.”

Joab knew Solomon had instructions from David about what to
do with him so he fled to the tabernacle for refuge.

Benaiah was reluctant to strike him
in that holy place but Solomon told him to do it in judgment for the bloody,
murderous life he’d lived.

Joab’s execution would let everyone know that he had NOT
acted on David’s behalf in the execution of Abner & Amasa.

Both of those murders were purely
self-serving on Joab’s part.

34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada
went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the
wilderness.35 The king
put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put
Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.36 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build
yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there
anywhere.37 For it shall
be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you
shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.”

Solomon was reluctant to execute Shimei without a clearer
picture of exactly where his heart was.

David believed Shimei would be a
danger to the throne but didn’t have any hard evidence. Only his suspicion. So
Solomon set this test.

Shimei was to remain in Jerusalem. If he ever traveled east of the Kidron, it would signal a disloyalty to Solomon
that was dangerous to the throne.

Now, let me ask – if someone with the power to do what he
said, said, “Don’t cross this line or you die.”

And you didn’t NEED to cross that
line, would you be really careful to not
cross it? Sure!

4. Shimei executed 2:38-46

38 And Shimei said to the king, “The
saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will
do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.39
Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves
of Shimei ran away to Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told
Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!”

Though Gath lies to the west of Jerusalem, the road there
crossed the Kidron south of Jerusalem.

So - what ought Shimei
have done? Informed Solomon and asked for help. He didn’t.

40 So Shimei arose, saddled his
donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought
his slaves from Gath.41 And
Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back.42 Then the king sent and called for
Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for
certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’?
And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’43 Why then have you not kept the oath
of the Lord and the commandment
that I gave you?”44 The
king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, all the
wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the Lord will return your wickedness on
your own head.45 But King
Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established
before the Lord forever.”46 So the king commanded Benaiah the
son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the
kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

This seems really harsh, as though Solomon was just looking
for an excuse to off Shimei.

And you know, that may indeed be
the case.

He couldn’t execute him on the
suspicions of his father, but this was a specific clear violation of the king’s
command Shimei himself had agreed to.

The point is this – Shimei had lost a sense of gratitude for
the mercy both David & Solomon had shown him.

So much so he’d stopped thinking
about his duty to the king altogether.

All he had to do when his slaves
ran off was to ask Solomon for help – but it never occurred t him.

Why get permission or ask for help
when you can take care of it yourself?

And because Shimei had stopped
thinking about his duty to Solomon, we forgot about that line that marked the
difference between life & death.

This is why Jesus calls us to celebrate communion – so that
we’d never forget Him or lose a grip on the gratitude we ought to have for His
forgiveness.